1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to devices for receiving urine from patients and, more particularly, to devices especially adapted for receiving urine from male patients.
2. Description of the State of the Art
Various urinal devices have been developed for collecting urine from bedridden patients. Conventional portable urinals or bed pans for male patients usually comprise a cylindrical sleeve or spout with an opening extending generally upwardly from a covered fluid receptacle or pan for collecting the discharged urine. Such urinals have remained relatively unchanged over the years with only slight variations in configuration and angular orientation of the components. While existing designs are generally effective and capture a significant portion of the discharged urine, all suffer to some extent from leakage and spillage problems, especially when the male patient has to remain in a supine position while urinating. Leakage frequently results, for example, during discharge due to misdirection of the urine stream. The upwardly oriented sleeve or spout requires that the urinal or bed pan be tipped substantially to accommodate entry of the penis for urination, but the extent to which the urinal can be tipped in this manner is limited by the practical necessity of also having to retain the urine in the receptacle without pouring it out. Therefore, it is usually difficult, if not impossible, to orient the sleeve or spout to optimally accommodate entry of the penis. This limitation, along with the physiological fact that the penis often contracts when inserted into urinal devices results in diverting the urine stream upward in a manner that often overshoots the urinal opening, either partially or entirely, thus soiling the patient and bed clothes.
Spillage of collected urine also frequently occurs while transporting and emptying conventional male urinals. While many such urinals include lids which facilitate retention of collected urine within the urine receptacle, the lids are typically either separate from the device or attached to a handle above the receptacle. When the lid is separate, to avoid spillage, the patient or an attendant must affix the lid to the urinal before attempting to remove the device from the patient's bed. Some patients, such as those with arthritis, do not have adequate finger agility for securing the lid, particularly lids of the screw-on type. Alternatively, when the lid is attached to the handle of the urinal, the device is generally cumbersome and difficult to manipulate. Thus, neither of these conventional designs facilitates removal of the urinal from the patient's bed without spillage of collected urine.
Finally, male urinal devices currently in use are not adapted to being hung from the side of a bed or bed stand. For ease of accessibility, however, it would be desirable for a urinal device to be adapted for hanging from the side of a bed, such as from a bed rail, or from a bed stand, night table or wall. In addition to being convenient and accessible to the patient and/or his attendant, such a device could be quickly located and removed from the area by medical personnel in the event of an emergency, e.g., during a "code blue" procedure.
A need therefore exists for a male urinal device which is simple in design, easy and convenient to use, sanitary, and which eliminates or minimizes leakage and spillage of discharged urine.